Le Poeme de Grignan

Often when choosing restaurants, you do your research- guide Michelin, TripAdvisor etc.  Sometimes, you think "those reviews totally lied, this place sucks" but sometimes, sometimes you get really lucky and you think "This place totally deserves stars".  La Poeme de Grignan totally deserves stars

On our visit to Drome, we decided we would have one nice meal out.  I had settled on La Poeme based on the raving reviews it received on Tripadvisors.  The website wasn't convincing but the menu online seemed solid and the restaurants was only about 10 minutes away from our Gite in Grignan. 

We got a bit lost looking for the restaurant-- but we ended up taking a little stroll in old Grignan to find the restaurant which was extremely quaint and totally adorable.  The old stone buildings and blue window frames gave that totally romantic, relaxing, French Provencal feeling. 

I read online that the restaurant was small. I wasn't prepared for exactly how small it is.  It has 8 tables. That's it.  We were greeted by Valerie who is the hostess, server, bus boy-- well the only person who works the front of the house for the restaurant. The restaurant is decorated with old antiques- cosy and comfortable- a lot like La Croix du Gres, the Gite we were staying at.

The menus are incredibly well priced- a three course menu is 31 Euros and a 5 course 48 Euros.  We all had a hard time choosing because A. I was doing a horrible translation job and B. We all wanted everything on the menu.

the Amuse Bouche was an avocado mousse with rehydrated sun dried tomato and some whipped creme fraiche.  It was with the Amuse Bouche that it became clear. Chef Herve knows how to work his flavors.  Every bite was rich, round and full.  An amazing precursor to the plates that would follow.

My starter was Foie Gras Poele with mangoes.  While the food is rustic and simply presented, the flavors were just mind blowing.  The mango was sweet and succulent, the sauce with a tinge of red berry fruitiness and the Foie Gras rich and cooked to perfection with it's perfectly sauteed crust.  I still dream about this dish to this day.

My main dish was a pigeon dish with fresh vegetables.  The flavors were once again harmonious, round and rich.  I'm not sure how chef Herve does it, but the moment the food is in your mouth, the thought "This is exactly what perfect food tastes like" comes to mind. 

I'm a bad person and didn't take notes on the cheese. I think the one to the left is a munster cheese from Alsace. Sorry!

This dessert wasn't actually mine. but it was so fluffy that I had to take a picture of it. A Grand Marnier souffle with raspberry sorbet. I was told that it was silky smooth and delicious

This medley of chocolate- cake, ice cream and mousse accompanied by a raspberry espuma.  I'm not a big fan of espumas but I remember it having a really raspberry flavor.  The chocolate desserts were not to sweet but by this time I was struggling to finish all the food on my plate.

Near the end of dinner, Chef Herve came out to greet diners, serve tea and help clean up the last of the tables.  He heard from Valerie that we were looking for a cab.

Not only had we just enjoyed a perfect meal at La Poeme, Chef Herve offered to take us back to the Gite instead of calling a cab.  He was under the impression that we didn't have a car at all, and with 6 people, he was going to make 2 trips to take us all home.  That level of service blew us away.

If you ever get the chance to go to this absolute gem of a restaurant, I highly highly recommend it.  It's clear that Chef Herve has a clear command of his flavors and cooking technique.  On top of all of this, he puts in soul and heart into his cuisine and it shows and tastes like it.  I'm sure Chef Herve could open a larger restaurant- people would come but I don't think that is his motivation.  While Chef Herve drove us back to the Gite, I asked him about La Poeme.  For him, he's from here, he loves using the local ingredients because they are so amazing. He has no desire to move from here-- and no desire to expand. He cooks because he enjoys it, and he gets immense joy from seeing people enjoy his food.  I hope one day, you can experience and enjoy his food as well.

Address:
La Poeme de Grignan
04 75 91 10 90
Rue Saint Louis 27230 Grignan